Venom Destroys Box Office Records

A recent trend has seen Rotten Tomatoes scores seriously affecting how well movies perform financially. This was not the case a few years ago. While the popular review site has long been a resource for movie fans, its newfound popularity and influence are definitely shaking up the entertainment industry. When it comes to blockbusters, many big releases have been hurt by negative critical reception. With that being said…

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Venom received overwhelmingly bad reviews in the days leading up to its opening weekend, causing many to assume it couldn’t possibly hit its projected $50 million box office take. Experts determined that closer to $30 million would be considered a flop, and anywhere near its initial projections would be a miracle. But against all odds, and a less than 30% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the comic book movie absolutely exceeded expectations.

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Even without the negative reviews, Venom’s $80 million opening is incredible, at almost double what the studio was hoping for. This make Tom Hardy’s anti-hero flick the highest grossing October release of all time. The previous record holder was Gravity, which brought in $55.8 million, 43% less than Venom. It also broke the international box office record for October with $125.2 million.

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So how did Sony overcome Venom’s negative reviews, as well as the unfortunate association with the character’s previous appearance in Spider-Man 3, leading up to the release? According to their domestic distribution chief, Adrian Smith, who spoke to Variety, “The idea was always to make a film that all audiences could enjoy.” Their plan is to launch a shared universe that could eventually crossover with Marvel’s Spider-Man. This is also good news for the upcoming Joker film. Check out the trailer for Venom below…